Comprehensive Land Use Plans

[Brittany Bhadd]

22Delaware Code 702 requires Delaware municipal governments to develop and regularly update land use plans. Smaller cities and towns (those with a population under 2,000) are required to develop a municipal development strategy. Larger cities and towns are required to develop more detailed Comprehensive Land Use Plans.

OSPC's circuit-rider planners are available to help municipal governments through the planning process as is the University of Delaware's Institute for Public Administration. There are also private-sector planning and consulting firms available to help develop Comprehensive Plans.

The Office has prepared the Comprehensive Plan Checklist and Municipal Comprehensive Plan Guide to help municipal governments meet the requirements of state laws regarding planning. These documents have recently been revised. The checklist is now a single page and focusses on code requirements. The guide has been expanded to include even more guidance about planning strategies as well as information about other state programs and resources that can assist local governments as they craft plans that address the needs of their communities.

All local governments in Delaware (both county and municipal) are required to prepare and adopt comprehensive plans. These plans are reviewed by State Agencies through the Preliminary Land Use Service (PLUS) and certified by the Governor.

The comprehensive plan, also known as a general plan, master plan or land-use plan, is a document designed to guide the future actions of a community. It presents a vision for the future, with long-range goals and objectives for all activities that affect the local government. This includes guidance on how to make decisions on public and private land development proposals, the expenditure of public funds, availability of tax policy (tax incentives), cooperative efforts and issues of pressing concern, such as farmland preservation or the rehabilitation of older neighborhoods areas. Most plans are written to provide direction for future activities over a 10- to 20-year period after plan adoption. However, plans should receive a considered review and possible update every five years.

This work is supported in part by New Technologies for Agriculture Extension grant no. 2020-41595-30123 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Envision Pitt County 2045 Comprehensive Land Use Plan, which was adopted by the Board of Commissioners on March 20, 2023 and became effective on May 1, 2023, serves as an integral guide for development in Pitt County. A Comprehensive Plan is a tool used for guiding the growth, redevelopment, and overall improvement of the county over the next twenty (20) years.

Development of the plan was a community-driven effort, and Pitt County staff met with stakeholders, citizens, elected officials and appointed boards to create the plan. Initial public input meetings were held in Summer of 2022 at D. H. Conley High School, Ayden-Grifton High School, Farmville Central High School, and North Pitt High School. In the Fall of 2022 additional meetings were held at the Community Schools and Recreation Building at Alice Keene District Park and at North Pitt High School. A project website was developed to provide information about the plan, and was updated regularly throughout the process. The County developed a community survey which was available in English and Spanish, and which could be completed online and via paper copy.

The Envision Pitt County 2045 Comprehensive Land Use Plan updated the previous 2030 Pitt County Comprehensive Land Use Plan (adopted in 2011). The North Carolina General Statutes recognizes the importance of long-range, comprehensive planning by requiring that all zoning map amendments (i.e. rezonings) be consistent with an adopted land use plan. Additionally, an updated Comprehensive Plan is required in order to enact and enforce zoning regulations. It is important that the plan reflect the County's current vision and priorities for development, and regular updates provide an opportunity every 5-10 years to have a conversation with the community.

Major concerns and priorities addressed by the plan include managing growth, encouraging more investment north of the Tar River, protecting farmland, managing flooding, improving transportation infrastructure, and addressing lack of affordable housing.

The plan establishes specific goals and policy recommendations for seven topic areas within the County. These recommendations are meant to guide decision-making and actions by the County and its partners. These topic areas are:

The plan also provides a Future Land Use Map (PDF), which is consistently consulted when reviewing proposed development plans, particularly rezoning proposals. The map includes eight (8) color-coded Character Areas which describe the desired types of development, density recommendations, and design characteristics.

A comprehensive land use plan is an aspirational policy guide for how Belmont should manage land use change over the next twenty years. It contains a vision statement, guiding principles, a future land use map, goals, action statements and a detailed implementation element that together provide a blueprint for citizens, developers, property owners, City staff, boards and the City Council.

The Florida Water Plan and the Florida Transportation Plan have been adopted. Through its review of planning activities, OIP assists with implementation of the Florida Water Plan, and the water supply plans of the five water management districts.

Growth management legislation was passed in 1985 in response to Florida's commitment to provide the facilities and services that communities need to foster economic growth and preserve natural amenities. The importance of comprehensive planning cannot be overstressed, because it results in decisions regarding long-term issues such as environmental protection and economic development. Section 163.3177, F.S., requires that local government comprehensive plans provide the policy foundation for local planning and land use decisions on capital improvements, conservation, intergovernmental coordination, recreation, open space, future land use, housing, transportation, coastal management (where applicable) and public facilities.

The review process is initiated when a local government transmits a proposed or adopted comprehensive plan amendment to the appropriate state and regional agencies, including DEP, Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), Department of State, Department of Transportation, regional planning councils and water management districts. Other agencies that may be included in the review process are the Department of Education (if the amendment affects schools), Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (for county amendments); county governments (for municipal amendments); and the commanding officer of any affected military installation. The three review processes for amending comprehensive plans include the Expedited State Review, State Coordinated Review and Small Scale Review.

With the exception of small scale amendments, which involve land use changes on parcels of 10 acres or less (or 20 acres or less for parcels within rural areas of critical economic concern) and are exempt from state and regional review, most amendments proposed and later adopted by local governments are now reviewed through the Expedited State Review process. DEP and other state and regional agencies must provide comments directly to the local government within 30 days of receiving an expedited review amendment and copy DEO, the state land planning agency.

In both coordinated and expedited review processes, DEP provides comments addressing important state resources and facilities that will be adversely impacted by the amendment. DEP must state with specificity how the plan amendment will adversely impact an important state resource or facility and recommend measures the local government may take to eliminate, reduce or mitigate the adverse impacts. Through OIP, DEP comments on the following important state resources and facilities:

If there are issues that cannot be resolved, DEO may challenge an adopted plan amendment. Detailed guidelines for submittal and processing of comprehensive plan amendments may be found at the DEO website.

The foundation of statewide program for land use planning in Oregon is a set of 19 Statewide Land Use Planning Goals. The goals express the state's policies on land use and related topics, like citizen involvement, housing, and natural resources.

Oregon's statewide goals are achieved through local comprehensive planning. State law requires each city and county to adopt a comprehensive plan and the zoning and land-division ordinances needed to put the plan into effect.

Local comprehensive plans must be consistent with the Statewide Planning Goals. Plans are reviewed for such consistency by the state's Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC). When LCDC officially approves a local government's plan, the plan is said to be acknowledged. It then becomes the controlling document for land use in the area covered by that plan.

Oregon's planning laws apply not only to local governments but also to special districts and state agencies. The laws strongly emphasize coordination -- keeping plans and programs consistent with each other, with the goals, as statutes are updated, and with acknowledged local plans.

The Town of Stallings is developed a comprehensive plan that reflects land use patterns, infrastructure availability, and economic development strategies, as well as establish future land use goals. The process included multiple opportunities for citizen involvement and input. One of the key goals was to develop a user-friendly plan that is well organized and easy to access for staff, appointed and elected boards, the development community, and the public.

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